5 Easy Ways to Show Kids How to Be Thankful

Parenting, especially the part where you have to teach your young ones to say thank you and be grateful, is hard. Unlike the long lectures or the guilt spree, the following 5 ways ensure your kid appreciates instead of blurting outright that they “don’t like this” or “it’s not what they wanted”.

1. Appreciating Out Loud

You want to set the right example because, believe it or not, your kids are taking on your more obvious traits. Remember to be sincere about it as you dish out your verbal thank yous profusely to everyone. This includes your family members too for their kind, thoughtful acts.

2. Help Them Take Note

The reason your child is not saying thank you is perhaps because they don’t even realize it. The role of the parents becomes even more important at the time, with their commentaries emphasizing the fun it was to go to the park and play, for instance, facilitate it.

3. Positive Reinforcement

Saw your child performing a good deed? How about you show how grateful you are about it? Telling them you like it is more effective at instilling this behavior than shaming or scolding them when they aren’t courteous and you command them to be.

4. Journals and Notes of Appreciation

Ask them to write a note or draw a picture for someone or something they think has made their life brighter. Likewise, a gratitude list on the fridge where every family member gets to mention their favorite blessing, or a separate journal to write down in every day gives you all an opportunity to value everyone.

5. Encourage Community Involvement

The holiday season is the perfect time to get your children active volunteers in community projects. Of course, getting yourself enrolled alongside them would be better. Once they experience how good it feels, they develop empathy and an appreciation of needs of others.

Aren’t these tips easy to foster a culture of gratitude in your family life?